It's a homecoming of sorts for Robert Hemphill Jr., who returned in February to Arlington, Va., power producer AES Corp. as executive VP of global development, a new position.

Hemphill worked at AES at its founding in 1981, helping to build it from a three-person, $1 million startup to an international corporation with electric power generation and distribution and telecommunications activities in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. He participated in or oversaw the development of many of AES' earliest projects and helped to initiate its expansion into Asia. He left in 1996 to form Bethesda, Md., private equity firm Toucan Capital Corp. but continued to serve on AES' board.

Why would he go back to AES, which has been selling more assets than buying in recent years as it worked to keep creditors at bay after a debt-financed acquisition spree?

Hemphill, a one-time deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy, wasn't available for an interview. But observers say AES has turned a corner, having refinanced much of its debt, and needs to look for growth again, whether it be greenfield development activities, mergers or acquisitions.

"Hemphill was a good board member, careful in his approach," says George Bilicic, a managing partner in charge of power deals and restructurings at Lazard in New York. "He'll do well in finding deals."

AES will probably look for opportunities in the areas in which it already operates, including Western Europe, the Middle East and maybe Asia, although it will probably stay away from Latin America, the United Kingdom and Africa, where it has been burned. -Claire Poole

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